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January–July 2027

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 12 of DECEMBER

To apply, please send:

  • approximately 30–40 images

  • a short description of your project

    to: info@photobookworkshop.com

Maximum 7 participants

FIVE MONTHS ONLINE +
FIVE DAYS STUDIO BASED
MARGATE, UK

FAQs

MARGATE PHOTOBOOK LAB

PHOTOBOOK LAB Five months of online project development + five-day workshop in Margate

January–July 2027

Maximum 7 participants

Margate Photobook Lab is an extended programme for photographers and artists who want to develop an existing photographic project into a fully resolved physical book dummy.

Rather than trying to make all the key decisions during a single intensive workshop, the programme is divided into two parts.

We begin with approximately five months of online development, working individually on the edit, sequence and preliminary layout of each project. This is followed by an intensive five-day workshop in Margate, where we move from the screen into physical experimentation, printing, materials, binding and dummy making.

The aim is to give every project enough time to develop gradually, while working towards a clear outcome: a finished physical dummy that can be used to take the project to its next stage.

APPLICATION AND SELECTION

The programme is limited to seven participants.

To apply, please send:

  • approximately 30–40 images

  • a short description of your project

These images are only for the initial selection process. Once your project has been accepted, we can work with a much broader body of photographs. There is no fixed number of images you need to limit yourself to during the development stage — this will depend entirely on the project.

Because we will be working together over several months, there will be time to reconsider the edit, introduce additional material, remove images and allow the project to change as it develops.

Selection will take place during the second week of December 2026, and successful participants will be notified shortly afterwards.

PART ONE — ONLINE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

January–May 2027

We will begin working together in early January 2027.

Each participant will have three individual online meetings of 1.5 hours each, spread across approximately five months.

There will also be ongoing online support between the meetings, allowing the project to continue developing rather than waiting until the next session.

Each meeting concentrates on a different stage of the book.

1. Selection

We begin with a wider body of work and concentrate on identifying the images that belong in the book.

We will look at what is essential, what can be removed, where the project may still have gaps and whether additional images or material should be introduced.

The aim is not simply to reduce the number of photographs, but to understand what the book is actually about.

2. Sequencing

The second meeting concentrates on how the selected images relate to one another.

We will work with sequence, rhythm, repetition, contrast, transitions and narrative structure, testing different possibilities rather than immediately settling on a single solution.

For this stage we will also use Canva Boards as a shared digital whiteboard, allowing us to move images quickly, compare sequences and develop different versions together.

3. Digital layout

Once the sequence has developed, we will begin transforming it into a book layout.

We will consider format, proportions, image size, spreads, pacing, blank pages and the relationship between individual images and the book as a whole.

If you already use Adobe InDesign, you can continue working with it.

If you do not use InDesign, we can work with Affinity, a professional page-layout and design application that is currently available free with a Canva account.

The aim is not to teach software for its own sake, but to use it as a practical tool for developing your book and preparing files that can later be printed and tested physically.

By the end of May, each participant should have a developed edit, sequence and preliminary digital layout.

JUNE — PREPARATION FOR THE PHYSICAL WORKSHOP

We will leave approximately one month between the online development stage and the Margate workshop.

During this period, you will prepare the project for physical production.

Before coming to Margate, we will discuss the most appropriate physical approach for each book — including possible format, paper, printing method and binding.

I will suggest papers and materials appropriate to your individual project so that anything required can be ordered in advance.

This means that when we meet in Margate, we can concentrate on testing, making and refining rather than losing valuable workshop time sourcing materials.

PART TWO — FIVE-DAY WORKSHOP IN MARGATE

July 2027 — exact dates to be confirmed with the selected participants

The physical workshop will take place at Jarret Yard Studios in Margate.

Once all seven participants have been selected, we will agree the exact July dates together.

The five days are dedicated to turning the work developed online into a physical book.

We will work with printing, paper, scale, page construction, binding and different ways of translating a digital layout into a physical object.

The workshop will centre around the production of two dummies.

THE FIRST DUMMY — TESTING AND DEVELOPMENT

The first dummy is a working prototype.

Its purpose is to test whether the decisions developed over the previous months actually work once the book becomes physical.

We will look closely at:

  • scale

  • image placement

  • page turns

  • pacing

  • paper

  • printing

  • binding

  • the relationship between content and physical form

This first dummy does not need to be perfect.

It is there to reveal problems, test ideas and create opportunities to change the book.

Once we can hold the project in our hands, decisions that appeared convincing on screen may need to be reconsidered.

THE FINAL DUMMY — RESOLVING THE PROJECT

Using what we learn from the first version, we will make corrections and develop the book further.

We will then produce a second, more resolved dummy using the paper, format, layout and binding approach chosen for the project.

This final dummy brings together the work developed throughout the programme — selection, sequence, layout, material, printing and construction.

The aim is to finish with a coherent physical book dummy that clearly communicates the project and is ready to move to the next stage.

This might mean presenting it to a publisher, applying for funding, developing a self-published edition, preparing the project for production or using the dummy to continue the conversation with designers and collaborators.

WHY THIS FORMAT?

A photobook needs time.

Selection, sequencing and design rarely develop in a straight line. Ideas need to be tested, left alone, reconsidered and sometimes completely changed.

Working together over approximately five months gives each project space to evolve between meetings.

By the time we meet in Margate, we will already know the project well. Instead of spending the physical workshop trying to solve the basic edit or sequence, we can concentrate on the part that cannot properly be understood on screen: the book as a physical object.

The programme combines slow, considered project development with an intensive period of making.

TIMELINE

Second week of December 2026
Selection of seven projects and notification of successful applicants.

Early January 2027
Online development begins.

January–May 2027
Three individual 1.5-hour online meetings, with ongoing support between sessions.

June 2027
Final preparation, materials, paper and printing decisions.

July 2027
Five-day physical workshop at Jarret Yard Studios, Margate. Exact dates will be agreed with the selected participants.

FEE

Online development programme: £450
Includes three individual 1.5-hour meetings and online support throughout the development period.

Five-day Margate workshop: £850

Total programme fee: £1,300

The total cost can be paid in full or paid in instalments.

The fee covers tuition and support. Individual printing, paper and specialist materials required for each project are not included and will depend on the particular approach chosen for the book.

Cancellation Policy

  • Cancellations must be made in writing.

  • Online development (£450): Any online meetings and support already provided must be paid for. Once the online development programme has been completed, the full £450 fee remains payable.

  • Physical workshop (£850): Cancellations made at least two months before the workshop will receive a refund of the workshop fee, less any reasonable costs already incurred.

  • No discretionary refunds will be offered for cancellations made less than two months before the physical workshop. The workshop fee will be retained to the extent permitted by law.

  • Where possible, we will offer cancelled places to applicants on the waiting list. Any replacement booking and costs saved will be taken into account where a refund is legally required.

  • If we cancel the programme, fees for services not provided will be refunded.

  • Workshop fee non-transferable to other services or workshops.

  • Registration implies agreement with this policy.

  • Contact us for questions or clarifications.